If you go out to Lake Dardanelle State Park and watch the weigh-ins of the High School Fishing World Finals, you may hear Mark Gintert, national youth director for The Bass Federation (TBF), ask the anglers if there’s anybody they would like to thank.

This question is not just a simple pleasantry, it’s also a signal.

“It takes those kids about 45 seconds to answer that question,” Gintert said. “That gives time to dump the bag, weigh the fish, hold them up and take a picture. We don’t want the fish out of the water any longer than you can hold your breath.”

Once the fish are done being weighed, they are handed off to Lake Dardanelle State Park aquarist Lacey Gurien.

“Once I get them, they’re in those tanks until it’s time to take them out and release,” Gurien said. “Release points vary. I try not to drop them in the same place twice. It gives them a chance to relax before the fishing is on again.”

Gurien said they use both the trailer tank and a pontoon boat to hold and release the fish. Both can hold approximately 75-100 fish.

“You can only stock so many fish per tank,” Gurien said. “It just makes sure they’re not on top of each other or stressed out.”

Keeping the fish comfortable in the tanks is very important for a successful release.

“You can kill all the fish in that tank in a real big hurry if you’re not careful,” Gintert said. “If you overload them, the oxygen goes down or the temperature goes up. That tank is like the incinerator if something goes wrong.”

Lake Dardanelle State Park has great success with their releases.

“Our release rate over the last year is about 98 percent,” Gurien said.

Gintert said the success of a release begins before the fish is ever caught.

“There’s a complete set of rules on everything, from how you handle a restroom break to how to take care of your fish,” Gintert said.

Inside every boat there is a live well to keep the fish alive and healthy for release. A dead fish will receive an eight-ounce penalty.

“It’s very important to them,” Gintert said. “Guys have lost a fortune of money based on a fish dying.”

There are a few things that need to be properly managed in order to ensure that the fish remain alive. Gintert said the biggest factor is temperature.

“Once water gets about 75 degrees, it loses its ability to absorb oxygen,” Gintert said. “The lake temperature already is 82 or 83 degrees, so the water in the lake doesn’t have a whole lot of oxygen in the top at least.”

A truck of ice is provided so when teams get fish in their boat they can put some ice in to cool the water down and increase the amount of oxygen in the water.

“You can’t go too cold or it will shock them,” Gintert said. “Just like an old guy like me eating a popsicle and getting brain freeze. It works the same with fish.”